


bedside

by SuperStellar



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Hospitals, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperStellar/pseuds/SuperStellar
Summary: After Eternatus, Raihan visits Leon in the hospital.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 96





	bedside

Leon feels fuzzy, like his mouth is shoved full of cotton and his limbs are barely a part of his body. He can’t really focus either – and he thinks he’s drifting in and out of consciousness. It’s hard to tell. At one point, he can see Hop in a chair, asleep but clutching his bag. At another point, he wakes and thinks it’s Sonia there. He tries to smile at her, but there’s no sign that she’s noticed, so he probably doesn’t have full control over his body yet.

Which isn’t great.

He only wanted to… be the best Champion that Galar had ever seen. And granted, as the Champion for the last ten years, he already could make that claim. But then Chairman Rose said that only the Champion could control Eternatus. Only then could Galar be saved.

But he couldn’t. He failed. And now he’s in the hospital, hooked up to painkillers, and who knows what sort of injuries he had.

His head is lolled to the side, so he can see the door. He thinks he’s hallucinating when Raihan’s vague outline swims into view. After all, Raihan wouldn’t really be here at his bedside, right? He’s always wanted… and they’ve always been friends—rivals—but he didn’t think… well, it didn’t really matter what he thought.

Raihan stands there for what seems like eternity, simply staring at him. Leon wants to say, “see anything you like?” with the way he’s being examined. Finally, Raihan sighs, and Leon’s still not sure why Raihan’s here at all.

Raihan pulls a chair up right next to Leon’s hospital bed and takes one of Leon’s hands into his own, absent-mindedly tracing his knuckles with calloused fingers. “You know, Leon, you scared the crap out of me. Out of all of us.”

And Leon does know – what with how haggard Sonia has looked, and how Hop seems to have aged ten years. He’s pretty sure he’s not imagining that, but he kind of wishes he were. He doesn’t want to see his loved ones like this. He’s always worked so hard so they’d never have to look like that.

“And I never thought…” Raihan breaks off the sentence with another sigh, with a tightening of his hand on Leon’s. “You’re supposed to be unbeatable. Unbreakable. Leon, you’ve been the shining star for all of Galar for ten years, you know?

“But here you are… I’ve never seen you look so small, and we’ve been friends since we were ten.”

Leon tries to nod. He wants to reply, to reassure, but his mouth just doesn’t work.

“And you know…” Raihan pauses, as if he’s searching for the right words. Leon still can’t make out his face clearly, but with the way Raihan’s voice breaks as he continues, he’s almost glad that he can’t. “Leon, we thought you died. You _did_ die – your heart stopped twice. It’s practically a miracle you’re still with us.”

 _Oh,_ Leon thinks, _that explains a lot._ He didn’t know what had happened for everyone who’d visited to look like death warmed over, but he supposes that him dying (almost dying?) would cause that. He feels awful.

“We know it’s not your fault, though,” Raihan continues, like he knows exactly what Leon’s thinking, “We should’ve expected something like this. We all saw the signs—the rampaging Dynamax Pokémon, Rose’s increasingly erratic behaviour—but we all chose to… ignore it. Things weren’t bad, and we were having such a great season, and… well, I’m only making excuses now.”

Leon wants to comfort Raihan. After all, he was the one with a front-row seat to the Chairman’s plans for saving Galar, as twisted and misguided as it was. And they all trusted the Chairman to have Galar’s best interests at heart. Hell, the whole plan was enacted to prevent tragedy in Galar, and could they really blame him for loving this region so much?

“And I know that if you were awake right now, you’d try and take more of the blame,” Raihan gives a shaky laugh, “because that’s just the kind of person you are.”

The room falls silent, save for the beeping of various pieces of equipment that Leon’s hooked up to. It’s comfortable, surprisingly, since Leon and Raihan rarely have silence when they’re together. They’re—explosive, Leon supposes. Their battles certainly are.

Leon’s not sure how much time passes until Raihan sighs. Leon thinks he’s about to leave, but instead, Raihan brushes a piece of hair off of Leon’s face, tucking it behind an ear. The touch is so tender that Leon’s almost convinced he’s hallucinating it. Raihan’s hand settles gently on Leon’s head. “The doctors said you’re able to hear us talk to you, and it’ll help with your recovery, so that’s what I’m doing, even if it feels weird, like I’m talking to myself.” Raihan huffs gently. “Or, rather, for myself.”

Raihan’s hand is warm against his head, and Leon wants to lean into the touch. He curses the fact that he’s still in this limbo state.

“So maybe this is the coward’s way out, but…” Raihan’s hand tenses a bit, like he’s bracing himself for his next words. Leon’s not sure where this is going, but he feels like his heart is beating a mile a minute. The machinery doesn’t seem to pick it up, so perhaps this truly is a figment of his imagination. Or maybe it’s because his whole world has narrowed to Raihan. “This is such a bad time,” Raihan sighs, “but better late than never…” he mumbles, more to himself than to Leon.

“Leon, I… I’ve not been the most subtle, but I guess I should outright say it.” Raihan takes a deep breath in, like he’s steeling himself. “I’m in love with you, Leon. I fell in love with you somewhere along the way and always meant to tell you, but… it was almost too late.” Raihan’s voice hitches, like he’s choking on a sob. “I almost didn’t get a chance. But I… I wanted you to know. And this is awful because even if you can hear me, you can’t respond. But I love you.”

Leon’s sure his heart has stopped. There’s no way that this isn’t a hallucination since it’s all he’s ever wanted to hear. It’s not possible that this is real.

“It’s always been you. And I’ve… when you wake up, I’m going to tell you again,” Raihan’s smiling, Leon thinks, “because I want to make sure you know, because I’m selfish and you almost died, you damn fool.” Raihan shakes his head, and Leon wants to think that it’s with fondness. “Even if you don’t feel the same way, I’ll always be your friend and your rival.

“I’m just… yours.”

With that, Raihan finally steps away from Leon. Leon wants to whine at the loss of contact, wants Raihan to stay with him, wants to tell Raihan that he loves him too, that it’s always been him.

But he can’t.

“Wake up soon, Leon,” Raihan says quietly from the door, “because I’ll be waiting for you.”


End file.
